Research Symposium

BIO

I am a second year Honors student studying Biological Sciences. I am currently working on research regarding first impressions and bias regulation.

Intellectual Humility and Regulation of Biased Impressions

Abstract

Intellectual Humility (IH) refers to one’s ability to recognize their intellectual shortcomings and become open to new perspectives. We examine the relationship between disregarding initial biases and IH when making decisions about others– especially when new information is offered. Study 1 included an online survey with self-reported measures of IH scales of trusting and relying on first impressions during interpersonal interactions. IH did not relate to trusting first impressions, suggesting that people may hold biases of first impressions regardless of their IH. However, high IH related to less reliance on first impressions; participants high in IH were less likely to report using their first impressions when making later decisions about others. Study 2 aims to replicate Study 1 with behavioral measures. Participants will review headshots and choose potential team members for a trivia task, including competent-looking and incompetent-looking faces as determined by our pilot study. We predict that participants with high IH will be just as likely as others to select competent-looking faces as team members, indicating initial face bias. To examine participants’ reliance on potentially biased first impressions, we will allow them to reselect their team upon new information regarding competence of all options which will be incongruent with their initial selection based on limited knowledge. We predict that IH will relate to a higher tendency to revise initial selections based on new information regarding team members’ competence. Our studies will shed light on day-to-day implications of intellectual humility in terms of bias regulation in critical contexts like hiring.

Keywords: Psychology, Impressions, Intellectual Humility